Clayton State Knocks Out Wingate In NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament

COLUMBUS, Ga. -- The Clayton State University women's tennis team won two of the three doubles matches and claimed three singles victories to take a 5-1 NCAA Division II Southeast Region first-round triumph over Wingate University Monday afternoon at the Mary V. Blackmon Tennis Center on the campus of Columbus State University. The setback ends a 19-match winning streak for the Bulldogs.

The number three seed Clayton State Lakers improve to 15-7 overall. The number six seed Wingate Bulldogs conclude the 2011 season 21-2 overall. Both teams are ranked in the most recent Campbell/ITA NCAA Division II national rankings. Clayton State is number 12, while Wingate is number 32.

The Lakers' roster includes two nationally-ranked doubles teams and two nationally-ranked singles players. Clayton State won the first two doubles flights 8-0 and 8-1 behind two top 20 duos. Wingate freshmen Morgan Winston (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and Olivia Poole (Boca Raton, Fla.) got the Bulldogs on the board, claiming a 9-8 (2) decision at the number three doubles spot over CSU freshman Martina Dedaj (Pula, Croatia) and sophomore Jessica Budd (Bristol, England).

Dedaj put the Lakers up 3-1 with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Bulldog sophomore Kelli Ferguson (Concord, N.C.) at the number five singles position. Ferguson had won 14 consecutive singles matches prior to Monday's contest.

Clayton State sophomore Ivana Krommelova (Nove Zamky, Slovakia) defeated Winston 6-1, 6-0 to give the Peach Belt Conference members a 4-1 advantage. CSU senior Viktoriya Semyrodenko (Donetsk, Ukraine) clinched the triumph with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Wingate senior Kara Stasikelis (Greer, S.C.) at the number one singles flight. Semyrodenko is the number 19 player in NCAA Division II.

Wingate led two of the three singles matches that did not finish. At the number two singles flight, Bulldog freshman Ali Evers (Roswell, Ga.) won the first set 6-1 over CSU senior Katie White (Wolverhampton, England). The number 24 player in the nation, White was leading the second set 5-4 when play was called.

Bulldog sophomore Helen Goreski (Oakville, Ontario) won the first set 6-2 over Laker sophomore Charlotte Fabricius (Stockholm, Sweden). Goreski trailed 3-4 in the second set when the match was decided. Clayton State was one game away from winning the number four singles match when play was called.

Wingate won the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament for the first time in school history, earning the league's automatic qualification to the NCAA tournament. The 2011 SAC regular season champion Bulldogs have qualified for the NCAA tournament nine times; the 2011 appearance is the team's first tourney since 2003. Four Wingate players were named to the All-SAC team; Evers was honored as the SAC Freshman of the Year. Bulldog head coach Michael Cabana was voted the SAC Coach of the Year by his peers.

Women's Tennis Match Results
#32 Wingate vs #12 Clayton State (Ga.)
5/2/2011 at Columbus, Ga. / Mary V. Blackmon Tennis Center
#12 Clayton State (Ga.) 5, #32 Wingate 1
Singles competition
1. #19 Viktoriya Semyrodenk (CSU) def. Kara Stasikelis (WIN) 6-4, 6-2
2. Ali Evers (WIN) led #24 Katie White (CSU) 6-1, 4-5, DNF
3. Ivana Krommelova (CSU) def. Morgan Winston (WIN) 6-1, 6-0
4. Marie Cerecelletti (CSU) led Olivia Poole (WIN) 6-3, 5-2, DNF
5. Martina Dedaj (CSU) def. Kelli Ferguson (WIN) 6-2, 6-0
6. Helen Goreski (WIN) led Charlotte Fabricius (CSU) 6-2, 3-4, DNF

Doubles competition
1. #10 Semyrodenk/Krommelova (CSU) def. Stasikelis/Ferguson (WIN) 8-0
2. #18 White/Cerecelletti (CSU) def. Evers/Sam Alschlager (WIN) 8-1
3. Winston/Poole (WIN) def. Dedaj/Jessica Budd (CSU) 9-8 (2)

Match Notes:
Wingate 21-2 overall; Nat'1 ranking #32; Regional seed #6
Clayton State 15-7 overall; Nat'1 ranking #12; Regional seed #3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,3,1)
Clayton State will face Columbus State Tuesday (May 3) at 1 p.m.